Plea deal gives ex-Palm Beach doorman 20 years for shooting

Sunday

Sep 4, 2016 at 12:01 AMSep 4, 2016 at 2:51 PM

The former doorman who shot and seriously wounded a Palm Beach condo manager has accepted a plea deal that will put him behind bars for 20 years.

On Oct. 3, 2014, Charles Michael Croghan walked into The President of Palm Beach condominium, went to the office of manager Jeremy Holland, and shot him point-blank in the head. He also threatened Holland’s fiancee, Dana Enriquez, with a gun.

He was later charged with first-degree attempted murder and aggravated assault with a firearm.

> Complete coverage of the case

Today, Croghan, 74, pleaded guilty to the altered charge, attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, a first-degree felony, and to two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, third-degree felonies.

The deal will put Croghan in prison for a minimum of 20 years with a credit for 531 days served, according to circuit court records. His time on the assault charges will be served concurrently. The plea document also notes that restitution was ordered.

Holland and Enriquez signed off on the plea deal. "We are happy with it," Enriquez said. "It saved us from having to testify and the emotional drain of a trial. It would have brought up too many raw feelings."

The deal was accepted in the courtroom of Palm Beach Circuit Judge Jack Cox.

"There were many family members and friends all wearing blue to show a united front for our Superman and show Chuck that evil does not prevail," Enriquez said.

Holland was able to walk into court with the aid of a three-pronged cane. He’s regained the use of his right arm but has limited use of his left arm.

Enriquez said she sees a long road ahead for her fiance. "He struggles daily to get some semblance of his old self back."

She has no faith that Croghan will ever have to pay financially for shooting Holland. "He doesn’t have anything," she said.

Oham Padron of Lake Worth attended today’s hearing.

She said the deal with Croghan leaves her with mixed emotions. "We want him to stay in prison until he dies. Because of his age, he probably will," said Padron, who has know the couple for years and continues to provide accounting services to the President condominium.

"I’m grateful this chapter is over and he’s going to prison, but it doesn’t give back Jeremy any of the things that he used to have."

When Croghan was sentenced, Holland stood up, Padron said.

"Jeremy just stood up and was looking at him letting him know ‘You didn’t get me.’ It was very moving," she said.

Holland had fired Croghan as doorman at the condo, police officials have said. Enriquez was sitting at her desk in the same office, the police report said. After witnessing the shooting, Enriquez ran to the lobby area.

As Croghan walked out, the police report said, he pointed his handgun at Enriquez and said to her, "You're next. You want one of these?"

The shooting was the first shooting in Palm Beach since the mid-1990s. In 2003, the shooting of Palm Beach resident Rosemarie Keller by her ex-husband Fred Keller in his Riviera Beach office shocked the community.

Recovery process

Holland has had a long recovery. Friends gathered at Bradley’s Beach Club in Lake Worth last October to raise funds for his medical bills, which reached $17,000, and show support near the first anniversary of the shooting.

At that time, Holland was undergoing hyperbaric oxygen treatments to improve his mental function and decrease the intensity of recurring headaches.

Padron said then that the year had been horrific for her friend.

"Every kind of therapy you can think of, he’s in," she said. "It’s very emotional and very tough on everyone, mostly on him.

"When this happened, no one on the island could believe it would happen to him. He would walk into a room and everyone would immediately fall in love with him. He’s just gregarious and fun and happy and genuinely kind."

Last August, when a trial date was set, Holland and Enriquez said that step was a "good thing" and that they were looking forward to the case moving ahead.

Cox had set the trial for between March 28 and April 18. A calendar call to set the exact date was scheduled for March 23.